The Great Gatsby: Alternate Ending
by anony mouse112
Summary: What if Gatsby hadn't died? What if he and Nick liked each other? Do you like to read fanfiction that's also been turned in for an actual English grade even though it's literally fanfiction? Then read my friend Marissa sin.
1. Chapter 1

GATSBY'S POV

Pain filled my body and I knew that I would soon be dead. I wasn't ready to die, I was young and wealthy. I needed help but what could I do? I was drowning and my blood was filling the pool. Suddenly I heard footsteps and I was filled with hope. It had to be Daisy, after all she was insanely in love with me, right?

"Jay," a familiar voice screamed. Nick. Of course. I felt as someone dragged my limp body onto my well-kept grass. "Please don't die. I need you Gatsby," he cried and held my body. "I don't think I can hold on for much longer," I admitted in a weak voice. "We're gonna get you help, okay? Everything's going to be okay", he said as he carried me.

I began to drift off into nothingness and suddenly everything went black.

I woke up in an unfamiliar room with someone clutching my hand. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that Nick was inches away from my face. "I'm so glad that you're alive. Jay, I'm so sorry that I didn't get there earlier," he murmured and backed away from me. "I-it's fine," I stuttered and groaned in pain. Memories of what had occurred filled my head and I frowned as I looked around the drab hospital room.

"Has Daisy visited?" I asked, hope filling my lungs and my heart beating faster. Nick slowly shook his head, "Forget Daisy. We both know how she is." I could tell that he was trying to cheer me up but I was angry. "I can't believe how she's acting, old sport. I have revolved these last few years on the hope that we would be together again one day, you know? Somehow knowing that she doesn't even care if I live or not makes it final." I said with a deep sigh, sadness and hatred lacing my usually happy tone.

Behind the wild parties and expensive taste I was quite a lonely man. Young, handsome, and rich but all alone. What's the point of it all if you have no one to share it with? I wanted to say as much to Nick but I knew it would be no good. Filling Mr. Caraway's head with more of my foolish nonsense wouldn't do either one of us any good.

I observed Nick carefully as he talked about something that I found myself somewhat uninterested in. He was actually a very good looking man and I found myself captivated by every little thing he did. I snapped out of my thoughts as I heard him say "I saw Tom outside of a shop while you were sleeping. He said that he and Daisy had patched everything up quite well. He was even buying her a pearl necklace. I've never understood people like them. All they do is use people then throw them away when they're no longer in need. Perhaps they're meant to be."

"Did he say anything else?" I asked, interest clear in my eyes. He nodded and bit his lip, "He said that you deserved what you got and that Wilson should have just finished you off." I sighed deeply, "Maybe he's right, old sport. Maybe he's right."

Nick looked at me with shock clear in his features, "You can't be serious, Gatsby. You didn't kill Myrtle, do you think he'd feel the same if he knew it was Daisy behind the wheel that night? The thing that you and Daisy don't know is that Myrtle Wilson was Tom's mistress. That's the real reason he's so upset."

Suddenly a nurse bustled in and medicated me more. I drifted off to sleep while Nick prattled on about something.


	2. Chapter 2

NICK'S POV

As I sat beside Gatsby's bed I realized that we were all very blind to the ways of the world. We busied ourselves with expensive parties and fancy people but cared nothing about anything that really mattered. Could I really say that I was any better than Tom or Daisy or anyone else like them for that matter? I had revolved my life around everyone else. As life continued I just sat back and observed without ever really seeing anything. There were secrets hidden everywhere. Now I was on a mission to open up my eyes and truly see.

After thirty uninteresting years I was finally going to open my eyes up to the world.

"Gatsby," I said to his sleeping body then sighed in defeat. I needed to leave this God awful place but I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye to Gatsby. I was the only true friend he had ever had and I would never leave him. I could always ask him to accompany me and there was a decent chance that he would oblige but then again I didn't truly know him. No one knew Gatsby. He was just one of the many mysteries that plagued my mind late at night.

He has been asleep for about two short hours but I found that I needed his answer at this exact second. I shook him awake and watched with hidden awe in my eyes as he looked up at me.

Truth be told, I was absolutely fascinated by Jay Gatsby. He was an enigma to me and everyone else. I wanted to make him one of my missions. I wanted to see into the crowded corners of his fast paced mind. I wanted to know all of his secrets. I was blind to the ways of Jay Gatsby and I wanted to be able to see him clearly.

"What can I do for you, old sport?" he asked with a slight smile on his face even though he was lying in a hospital bed. Gatsby, even in the worst situations, was able to make everything seem okay. He was able to clear your mind of all problems with a look that promised that all would turn out perfectly. I was frozen for a few moments but then I finally came back to my senses. "Would you like to go somewhere with me when you get out?" I asked and ran a hand through my hair. I feared for his answer, afraid that he would think I was mad for asking him. "Where?" he asked quite simply. There was a gleam of curiosity deep in his eyes and this drove me forward. "We're not exactly made for this way of life, you know? We could go west. What do you say?" I said. I was shocked at how true my words were. Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and I weren't cut out for this. We were all much simpler than we'd like to admit to ourselves but we just wanted to fool ourselves and search for something more. I knew that if he'd go with me we'd be much happier.

To my surprise he nodded. He seemed to be thinking very hard about what to say. "That sounds like a good idea, old sport. It would do me some good to get away from all of this." he responded but I could tell he was holding something in. Deciding not to pry at the moment I just smiled widely at the blond lying in front of me. Suddenly a doctor walked in and I backed away.

"You're very lucky to have survived this, Mr. Gatsby. You'll be able to leave later today. While you're here some officers want to talk with you about the death of Myrtle Wilson" the doctor said. I observed him carefully. He was a slight man with a gray-brown mop of hair atop his shiny head, he seemed to be in his mid to late forties. I zoned out as Gatsby talked to the officers, I already knew everything that had occurred. Would Gatsby tell the truth? He was in love with Daisy but would he face the consequences for her mistake? In that exact moment I realized that I feared for Gatsby's future. I couldn't let him rot away for some girl that didn't care about him at all. "Jay wasn't driving" I basically yelled to the two officers in front of me.

They were complete opposites of each other. One was short, young, and skinny while the other was tall, old, and fat. They looked at me at the same time with varying degrees of curiosity on their pale faces. "What did you say, son?" the older man asked with raised eyebrows. Gatsby was shooting me warning glances but I couldn't stop. "My cousin Daisy Buchannan was the one who hit Myrtle Wilson that night" I said, looking down at my shoes. "Is this true, Mr. Gatsby? Are you covering for her?" he asked of Gatsby. I looked up at Gatsby, nervous for what he would say.

"Yes" he simply stated then bit his plump lip. A huge smile appeared on my lips as he said this. The cops looked at each other, nodded, and then walked out. Alone with Gatsby I was afraid that he would confront me for what I had just done. "Daisy doesn't love me, does she?" was all he asked of me. "At one point I believe she did. However, she has always been one who goes after men who can give her anything and everything she wants. Which leads me to believe that any type of relationship with her would just be her using you. Other than that I truly think that she just wanted more attention from Tom and she knew he had another woman so she needed some way to get him back" I said honestly. I didn't want to hurt Gatsby but I believed that the truth would be the most beneficial thing for him. He nodded slowly but said nothing. We waited in silence and then finally my curiosity bubbled up.

"Gatsby, what's it like?" I asked quietly. He raised his eyebrows and asked me what I meant. "Being in love" I whispered quietly. I didn't think he heard me as he didn't speak for a few uninterrupted minutes.

Finally, he spoke. "Being in love, old sport, is such a magical feeling. It's like…that person becomes your home. You feel…limitless, like there's nothing that you can't do. You would do anything to be their everything" he said softly then inhaled sharply. "But then again, what do I know about anything? The girl I was in love with is off prancing around with some guy, not even caring that I almost died because of her foolish ways. I've changed my mind, old sport. Love is some crazy temporary feeling that just makes us believe that we actually mean something to someone. It's a filthy lie, old sport" he said, suddenly bright faced and angry. In that moment I saw Gatsby for what he truly was. Under all of the expensive clothes and lavish parties he was lonely. So incredibly lonely that he went to great lengths to try to win back his first true love. In a way it was absolutely pathetic but in another way it was the most beautifully romantic thing I had witnessed in my thirty years.

"I believe that you ought to go home, old sport. Perhaps you can tell my servants to pack up some of my things. I just need a little bit of time to myself," he said quietly. I nodded and walked out into the corridor of the small hospital. Nurses bustled by but I paid no attention to them or anything really.

I was somewhat confused as to what was going on in my head. Could it be that I was feeling something other than friendliness towards Gatsby? I shook these unsettling thoughts out of my head and hailed a cab. I paid the cabbie, told him my address, and settled in for the ride.

As I looked at the vast expanse of Gatsby's home I sighed in exasperation. I was asking him to leave his home and for what? Just so I wouldn't be lonely? Because deep down I knew he was all I truly had? Gatsby was indeed my only true friend and maybe that's what drove me forward to spend more and more time with him. Perhaps that's why I've got to find the truth.

Inside his home I told the servants to pack some things as we would be leaving very soon. I found myself wanting to look through all of his possessions to see if I could find any truth in anything. However as I walked down the long, beautiful corridor I decided against it. Gatsby was a man of secrets and I was certain that he had everything hidden away where I or no one else would ever find it. Unless he wanted them to.

With a long, drawn out groan I walked back to my home so I could begin packing some things. Seated on my bed was no other than Daisy. She was dressed as flashy as ever but I said nothing of her appearance. "Can I help you?" I asked, disgust hanging onto my every word. I didn't mean to be so…terse with her but I couldn't help it. I had a newly formed hatred for the cousin that I had once loved and I couldn't find it in me to hide it. "Oh, Nicky, please don't be so upset with me. You have to understand that I've been going through so much and I just cannot handle anymore," she said, her lovely features twisted in a way to suggest that she was hurt. Daisy was always like that, she said and did things that made you want to comfort her. However, I would not be as weak as I had once been. "Daisy, Daisy, Daisy, that's all you ever care about, isn't it? Daisy, I'm so sick and tired of you and your twisted ways. You're a rotten person, you know that, right? You only care about what you can get from someone and how it'll make you look," I yelled to the small blonde in front of me.

Anger illuminated her beautiful face, "How dare you say that I only care about myself? I loved Jay and I love Tom. You don't understand anything about anything." I rolled my eyes and cared nothing of what she had to say. "Daisy, I think you should leave," I said, with a hint of frustration lacing my tone. "I just….I just wanted to tell you to tell Gatsby that I am very sorry for everything," she said and walked out of my small house.

I found myself disgusted with the life that these New Yorkers led. I found myself disgusted with Tom and Daisy and Jordan and Gatsby and even Myrtle who was dead. The whole way of life was utterly disgusting. I needed a change and I needed it now. I needed to get away from the city and the people. Especially the people.

Yet I still found myself stuck on Gatsby. My head was a jumble of Gatsby. He seemed to occupy my every thought. Was it pathetic to be so stuck on someone? I needed a name for the feelings that filled my head. Could I be in love? Could it be that he was the one person in this world who had actually successfully made me feel something other than Jordan Baker? Surely not. I refused to see these feelings as anything other than the bond of absolute best friends. But still….


	3. Chapter 3

Endless possibilities. Absolutely endless. Could it be the start of something new? It seemed as if it was indeed the beginning of something. I had never truly been one who strived to do new things for pleasure but as I watched Gatsby zoom across the open road I was starting to change my mind.

"You see, old sport, I had always wanted more than what I had. I didn't quite life the hand that life had dealt me. I think that I may have gotten a little ahead of myself but I had the right intentions," he said after we had been driving along for about an hour or two. "You did what you felt that you had to do to get where you wanted, anyone would have. Well, maybe not anyone but a sensible person would," I said as honestly as I could.

We settled into a comfortable silence as he focused on the road and I let my mind roam. Gatsby was a shattered, brokenhearted man but I was determined to change that. To change him for the better.

"I've been thinking about what you said about love, Gatsby, and I think you're wrong. Love may be disastrous but it's also the most beautiful thing we can ever experience. I believe that you and I have just had bad luck with people. When we find the right person it'll all fall into place. At least I hope so," I said, finally breaking the silence. He chuckled deeply, "Old sport, you may be right. How exactly do you know when you've found the right person though?"

My mind began to race, my heart began to pound, and I couldn't breathe properly. I don't know where these sudden feelings were coming from but I couldn't handle it. I looked over at him, "You just feel it." He smiled, his wondrous smile, "I'm pretty sure that I feel something right now." I swallowed loudly but waited patiently for him to say something. "It's a big possibility that I'm in love with you," he whispered, eyes set straight ahead on the road. "Gatsby, I know that I'm in love you," I whispered back to him.

Perhaps it had meant to be this way. Maybe, just maybe, it all happened like this so I would have this with Gatsby. In all the bad that had happened I had found the one good thing. We were driving off into something scary and unknown but we were together. For once, I was seeing into the depths of this new world and maybe I'd be able to see into Gatsby's wild mind and bright soul.


End file.
